


remember when i was young (and so were you)

by anyastasia



Series: there's a bond that exists between father and child (with no end to how strong it can grow) [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: DadSchlatt, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Mentions of alcohol, Mild Hurt/Comfort, baby tubbo, schlatt adopts tubbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28209432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyastasia/pseuds/anyastasia
Summary: philza picks up a new kid, but there's no way he's taking care of four boys. since tubbo's half ram, he thinks maybe schlatt will be a good dad. and also, you know, maybe tubbo will be an excuse to get out of bed in the morning.
Relationships: Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: there's a bond that exists between father and child (with no end to how strong it can grow) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068083
Comments: 37
Kudos: 697





	remember when i was young (and so were you)

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: this fic is about the CHARACTERS of dream smp, not the actual people. if this crosses any lines then it shall be deleted!
> 
> dadschlatt has taken over all that i am! goodbye. title is from remember when by wallows. this is most likely a part 1!!

schlatt was having a really, really shitty day before he got a phone call.

first, he was out of his favorite bourbon. that fucking sucked, honestly. he tried not to drink in the mornings, but sometimes he had that unscratchable itch, and he found himself in front of his kitchen cabinets, hand around the neck of a bottle. he never found the resolve to stop, even if there was the ever-constant voice in the back of his mind, saying,  _ you really shouldn’t be doing this. _

secondly, he dropped a glass on the floor and stepped in it. perhaps he was drunk when he did it, maybe he wasn’t. that wasn’t important. what  _ was _ important was that schlatt was awash in pain and it snapped him out of whatever inebriated state he was in. he limped his way to the bathroom and found he was out of gauze, which was a mini-shitty thing that resulted in him hobbling out of the bathroom with about a dozen bandaids on his foot.

given an excuse to sit around and not do anything, schlatt propped his foot upon the ottoman, set his recliner way back, and decided to have a drink while he watched tv. he was relaxed for the first time that day for a whole two minutes - until his phone, nestled between his leg and the armrest, began buzzing and chiming insistently.

schlatt growled and set down his drink, pausing the tv before snatching his phone up and pressing the answer button. he didn’t bother to check who it was. “hello?”

the background noise of a child shouting was joined by a familiar voice. “-lbur, don’t step on his head like that - ah, schlatt. are you home?”

“when am i not?” schlatt said icily, sliding down in the recliner so that his chin touched his chest.

philza minecraft paused. “are you drunk right now, schlatt?”

schlatt scoffed. “no. i would have been by now if you hadn’t interrupted me.”

that won a disappointed sigh on the other end of the line. “well, i caught you at a good time, then. listen, i need you to do me a huge favor.”

“i’m not babysitting your demon children again,” schlatt retorted, sitting up. philza had only brought them over once, and that resulted in techno breaking a lot of nice china, wilbur somehow wriggling his way on top of the cabinets that even schlatt wasn’t tall enough to get to, and tommy going missing for a solid hour before he wound up safe and sound on the mantle.

philza sighed again. “no, it’s not the kids. well, it is. sort of.”

“i’m not even taking one of them,” schlatt declared, reaching for his drink. he thought better of it - once he was off the call with philza, then he’d allow himself a drink.

“ _ listen,  _ listen,” philza went on. “i’m in a bit of a predicament. i and the boys were going on a walk today, down to the park, and we found a -- another kid.”

schlatt frowned. “you kidnapped a kid? i didn’t know that was your style, phil.”

philza scoffed, accompanied by another yell in the background. “no. he was just - in a box on the side of the road. like how i found techno, remember?”

schlatt paused for a moment, tapping his finger on the edge of his glass. “is he a hybrid like techno?”

“i-i’m not sure - hey, tommy, get out of there,” philza said, and there was the sound of something jostling and tommy protesting profusely. “he - he had ears and horns like you. and i think he has goat eyes-? i haven’t checked.”

schlatt didn’t speak for a moment. he’d never met another ram-human hybrid before, and phil had just conveniently found one on the side of the road? it wasn’t that farfetched, he supposed. his adopted parents had been swift to move him out on his eighteenth birthday. it wasn’t surprising to hear about hybrids getting dumped in cardboard boxes for people like philza to find. hybrids like techno and, apparently, this new boy.

“what’s his name?” schlatt asked. he pulled his hand away from the glass.

“the nametag said toby,” philza said, murmuring something to a kid. “all i found him with was a nametag, blanket, and a bee stuffie. no food or passie, no nothing. they must’ve wanted him gone quick. and he must have been put there sometime today because he would have been sick if he had been put there anytime earlier than this morning.”

“‘s’he a newborn?” schlatt asked softly, getting up from the recliner and limping to the window for no other reason than to give him something to do. 

“no,” philza said in the same tone. “toddler - maybe one or two. probably around the same age as tommy. but he’s shy and very sweet. he hasn’t talked at all, so i don’t think he can.”

schlatt let his eyes wander along the bushes outside. “so did you call me to ask for advice on how to raise a ram hybrid?”

philza hesitated. “actually...i was going to ask if you could take him.”

schlatt spun around, glaring at his phone accusingly. “ _ me? _ you want me to care for a baby? something living that depends on me being responsible? i’m the worst possible person for that job, phil.”

“i think it’ll be rather good for you,” philza said unexpectedly. “he’ll teach you how to live normally and not like a blackout drunk all the time. you’ll naturally want to protect him and care for him and you can hold him instead of a drink. he’ll teach you some responsibility.”

“no,” schlatt said. “i am not taking a whole child. i’d kill it.”

“no, you wouldn’t.” philza sounded way too confident. “listen. i can’t take care of four boys - three’s a stretch as-is. i  _ need _ you to take him. yeah, yes. i am requiring you to take him.”

“no!” schlatt protested. “phil, i swear to prime-”

“see you in half an hour!” philza said cheerfully, ending the call with a  _ beep. _

schlatt wanted to scream and throw his phone at the wall. then he decided against it - there was no stopping philza now, so he guessed he could clean up before he got here.

he tossed his glass in the sink and closed all the cabinets, and for good measure put all the bottles away. he lived in a tiny house - one bed, one bath, so he guessed the kid would be sleeping in his room. he made his bed - something he did so rarely he was surprised he remembered how to do it - and was going to pick up more downstairs before the doorbell was ringing.

schlatt hobbled down the stairs, running a hand through his hair, and glanced down at himself once more before he reached for the doorknob - he didn’t look as bad as he usually did. a turtleneck and jeans were about as good as he got these days.

opening the door presented philza standing on his front step with a cardboard box cradled in his arms. he looked as exhausted as ever - while schlatt was just tired from sleep deprivation, philza had the worst kind of tiredness - that from raising kids.

philza smiled tiredly and glanced down at the box. “he quite likes his box, so i suppose he can keep it.”

schlatt glanced at philza for a moment before stepping forward to peer into the box. at first, all he saw was a bee plushie and a bundle of blankets until a tiny hand pushed the bee plush away.

toby was  _ itty bitty.  _ he had big blue eyes, and rectangular pupils, identical to schlatt’s. tiny horns poked out of his thick brown hair, and his ears were furry and folded over. schlatt may even go so far as to say that he really could have been his son.

schlatt glanced up at philza. “i’m not gonna be able to talk you out of this, huh?”

philza smiled again. “nope.” he held out the box. “he’s all yours.”

schlatt straightened and took the box, which was surprisingly heavy. philza nodded and stepped away, before blinking and holding out another bag. “here. it’s extra baby stuff - passies, sippy cups, and i added a list of food and milk i give tommy.”

schlatt balanced toby’s box on one arm as he took the bag. “thanks.” he glanced at toby - he had hidden behind his bee again - before glancing back at philza. “i’ll - i’ll try my best.”

philza smiled. “ you’ll do great. call me if you have any questions.”

schlatt nodded and went back inside, shutting the door behind him. there was a whoosh of wings from outside as philza took off back to his boys.

walking to the living room, schlatt set the box down on the floor and sat a ways away from it, sitting against the recliner as he went through the bag. like philza said, it had pacifiers, some sippy cups, small bowls and spoons, and even an unopened pack of diapers. schlatt sighed and squinted at the list, then glanced back at toby.

the baby was peering over the edge of the box, staring at him with those big blue eyes. when he saw schlatt looking at him, he made a baby sound of protest and ducked back behind the cardboard.

schlatt chucked. “you don’t have to be scared, buster,” he said. he wasn’t even sure if the kid could understand him. “i’m your - wait, fuck, i’m your dad, huh? oh, i probably shouldn’t swear around you, hm.”

toby didn’t look over the box again. schlatt assumed he was just overwhelmed - philza’s house could just do that to you, honestly. overwhelmed by being abandoned, by having techno, wilbur, and tommy being the first things he meets, overwhelmed by the sudden change of scenery.

schlatt left to go get a glass of water, and when he returned, toby was looking over the box again, peering at the baby goodies spread across the floor. schlatt waited in the doorway until toby seemed relaxed before walking over with quiet steps.

this time, when toby saw him, he didn’t try to hide again. he ducked down behind the cardboard again, but he kept staring at schlatt.

schlatt chucked. “hey. i’m schlatt. you’re toby.”

toby paused for a moment, before reaching up and patting the side of his head, and then pointed at schlatt. schlatt took a moment before he realized what the baby was trying to communicate.

“oh yeah,” schlatt said, reaching up and patting his horns. “you have some too, bud. they’ll grow in when you’re older. you’ll be just like me.”

that statement was like a gut punch. glancing around, schlatt realized that - if this kid was going to be his  _ kid _ \- he didn’t want him growing up to be like him. he didn’t want this sweet baby boy to grow up to be a bumbling drunk, barely able to make it up the stairs some days. staring at this baby, schlatt realized he needed to change. not for himself - but for toby.

“hey,” schlatt said softly, reaching out. toby didn’t recoil, so he gently slid his hands under his arms and lifted him, settling him on his hip. toby reached out and touched his horns, looking mystified. then his hand trailed down to schlatt’s ear, which twitched in surprise, making toby grin.

schlatt smiled. “we’re gonna be buds, kid. and i’m gonna call you tubbo.”


End file.
